“Hey there, rodeo queen,” Chad drawled when he opened the door for Catie.

He looked gorgeous, as usual. His snug fitting jeans hugged his firm rear-end and sat below his hips at just the right angle to show off the cuts in his hip bones. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, damn him. His golden muscular chest made her heart race.

He reached toward her. “You been crying, sugar?”

Crying. Bawling. Heck, yes. He’d be crying in a minute, too.

She sniffed. “A little.”

“What on earth is wrong? Can I help?”

“I don’t know that you can, Chad.” Catie stifled a sob. “But I do need to talk to you.”

“Well, now, come on in, then.” He led her to the kitchen. “Brenda whipped us up a nice lunch. You want some tea?” He grinned. “Some raspberry tea?”

Catie’s tummy lurched at the thought of food. It was too early for morning sickness. She had a couple of more weeks before that lovely part of pregnancy set in. Nope, this nausea came from having to tell perpetual bachelor Chad McCray that he was about to become a father.

“Tea’d be fine, but I can’t eat. I’m not feeling quite myself.”

“All right. Sit on down.” He motioned to his kitchen table. “I’ll get you some tea, and then you can tell me what’s got that pretty face all in a frown.”

He brought her tea, sat down next to her, took her hand, and rubbed his thumb into her palm. It felt warm. It felt good.

“Catie, there’s something I need to say to you.”

“What?”

“Well, I hope this’ll help you feel better. Course I might be overestimating my importance in your life.” He looked into his lap. “But I sure hope not. Anyway”—he took her other hand—“I’d like to…see you. Romantically. You know, take you on a date. Get to know each other better.”

Her heart sank. Was her dream actually coming true? Now that she had to tell him she was pregnant? Tears threatened behind her eyes. “Chad—”

“Let me finish.” He cleared his throat. “I know we went to bed quickly. I wanted it. I don’t have to tell you that.”

“I wanted it too. And I meant it when I said you didn’t owe me anything.” I still mean it, Catie thought, even though… She couldn’t finish the thought.

“I know you did, sugar. But I’m hoping you’ll let me be more of a part of your life. I… I have strong feelings for you. I’d like to see where they could lead.”

“Uh, well, sure, Chad. I’d like that, too, but—”

“But what, sugar?”

“I have something I have to tell you. I hope you’ll be happy. I just don’t know.” She choked back another sob and sniffed.

Chad stood and brought a box of tissues to her.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, sugar. I hate to see you like this. Is one of your horses sick?”

“No, no. Nothing like that.”

“Then what is it? You can tell me. I’ll help if I can.”

How she hoped he’d help. How she hoped he wouldn’t be completely disappointed.

She took a deep breath. “Chad, I’m pregnant.”

---

Chad inhaled, and his heart nearly skidded to a stop. Pregnant. Baby.

How many times could one man—one man who intended to remain single and childless—endure those words?

Within seconds, Chad relived the hellish two month nightmare he’d withstood the previous year—only a week after he’d buried his mother.

---

Silence. His face had turned to granite. Had he gone completely devoid of emotion? Catie stood, pondering. Should she say something else?

Finally, “Good joke.”

“It’s not a joke.”

“That’s ridiculous. You can’t be pregnant. We used protection.”

“Yes. I know. But after that first night, I found one of your condoms by the trash in the morning. It… It had a tear in it.”

“Impossible. I use the best there are. I’ve never had a problem before.” He stood up and paced. “How can you be sure?”

“I’m a few days late. I drove into Murphy this morning and bought a home pregnancy test. It…was positive.”

“Only a few days? Then that could be a mistake.”

“Yeah. It could be, but it’s not. This is the same thing they use at doctor’s offices, Chad. They’re so sensitive now that you can detect pregnancy before you even miss your period. I’ve already missed mine.”

“Come on. You’re going to a doctor. The best in Denver. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“Chad, I agree that I need to go to a doctor, but to start prenatal care, not to have a pregnancy test.”

“Prenatal care? Oh my God.”

“Chad, I—”

“A rip in the condom. Nearly twenty years of condom use, Catie, and I’ve never had one rip on me. Interesting, isn’t it?”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, that last time, you put the condom on me, remember?”

“So?”

“So it would have been really easy for you to poke a hole in it without me knowing.”

Catie’s blood boiled. “You are not going to pin this on me. I found the condom with the tear in it after the first time, before I ever put a condom on you. And for your information, I wished damn hard for that test to be negative. I knew you didn’t want a child, a family. I knew you didn’t want me. But it’s positive, and the child is yours.”

“Maybe.”

She clenched her fists. “How dare you?”

“How do I know who you’ve been seeing? I’ve only been with you a few days out of the three weeks you’ve been home.”

“You fucking bastard!” Catie stood and pushed her chair under the table loudly. “The baby is yours. The condom ripped. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Get in my truck.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“The hell you’re not. We’re going to have a real doctor check you out. Then we’ll figure out where we can go to get rid of this…problem.”

“Get rid of it?” She gritted her teeth. “You can’t be serious. Know one thing, Chad McCray. I’m having this baby. With or without you.”

“Goddamnit.”

“What’s your problem anyway? A minute ago, you wanted to date me. To see me romantically, I believe is how you put it.”

“Dating you and setting up house are two different things.”

“Setting up house? I haven’t asked you for anything.”

“The hell you haven’t. Come on.”

“No.”

“Yes. We need to get you to a doctor in Denver. We need to find out what’s going on.”

“I already know what’s going on. I’m having a baby. You’re the father. I’m not asking you for anything. You can be involved or not. It’s your choice, but I’m having this child.”

Chad’s muscles tightened visibly. “If you’re bound and determined, you’re coming with me. I want a real doctor to look at you, Catie.”

He said not another word as he pulled her out of the kitchen, out of the house, and into his pickup.

He said not a word during the two hour drive to Denver.

He said not a word as he pulled her into the OB-GYN department of Denver Memorial hospital and demanded to see the best doctor they had.

They waited another hour in the waiting area, and he said not a word.

When the doctor confirmed the pregnancy, pronounced Catie in excellent health, assured her she could still have intimate relations, and wrote her a prescription for prenatal vitamins, Chad finally spoke.

“Come on, then.” He pulled her out of the doctor’s office.

“Where are we going now?”

“To the courthouse. We’re getting married.”